On Thursday residents in Havana and members of the Cuban community in Miami reacted to the news that the United States government was behind the once-popular social media network ZunZuneo.

An investigative report by The Associated Press found that the U.S. government was behind the creation of the "Cuban Twitter" designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba.

The social media network was built with secret shell companies and financed through foreign bank transactions.

In Cuba, local resident Claudia Garcia said she was not surprised that the U.S. was behind it.

"These are political things that I don't have any knowledge of, but for nobody in the world is it a hidden thing that they have always been trying to harm our country and government. It can't be a surprise for us anymore. Coming from them, nothing can be a surprise," she said.

The social network lasted for more than two years and drew tens of thousands of subscribers.

It gained an audience by offering users a social media platform that would first build a Cuban audience then later push them toward dissent.

On Thursday Cubavision ran a story with the findings of The Associated Press investigation.

The AP obtained more than 1,000 pages of documents from contractors about the development of ZunZuneo.

It independently verified the project's scope and details in the documents through publicly available databases, government sources and interviews with those involved in ZunZuneo.

AP's investigation showed the organisation behind this was the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a federal agency best known for overseeing billions of dollars in US humanitarian aid, which also has a mandate to spread democracy.

It is unclear whether the scheme was legal under U.S. law, which requires written authorisation of covert action by the president and congressional notification.

Officials at USAID would not say who had approved the programme or whether the White House was aware of it. The Cuban government declined a request for comment.

At minimum, details uncovered by the AP appear to muddy the U.S. Agency for International Development's longstanding claims that it does not conduct covert actions, and could undermine the agency's mission to deliver aid to the world's poor and vulnerable - an effort that requires the trust and cooperation of foreign governments.

The programme came to life after a USAID contractor obtained half-a-million cell phone numbers on the state-owned mobile network - Cubacel.

The contractor, Creative Associates International, based in Washington DC, was paid by USAID to hatch a plan to send text messages to Cuban cell phone owners.

Initially they sent messages about topics like the weather, soccer and music, to build an audience and so as not to alert the Cuban government.

Later they planned to push messages which they hoped would encourage dissent.

AP TELEVISION

Havana, Cuba

++16:9++

1. Boats in Havana Bay, Castle Morro in background

2. Various of people and traffic

3. Man talking on cell phone

4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Claudia Garcia, Cuban:

"These are political things that I don't have any knowledge of, but for nobody in the world is it a hidden thing that they have always been trying to harm our country and government. It can't be a surprise for us anymore. Coming from them, nothing can be a surprise."

5. People walking

6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Richard Cuantro, Cuban-American:

"I don't know anything about it. I hope it was like that, but I think it's a lie. The United States isn't interested in Cuba. If it's not interested in Venezuela, which is rotting in oil, this is rotten."

"Clearly, within the Cuban community they found out that they didn't know where it came from. In the end, we found out that it (ZunZuneo) was a communication created from here, from the US, to give Internet access to the community that didn't have it in Cuba."

12. Yaber organising Cuban pastries

13. Zoom out from pastries to Yaber walking into kitchen of caf�

14. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Belkis Hernandez, local resident:

"What do I think? I think it was a good thing. I hope that it gains momentum so that the people realise what is going on in the outside world and things change also in Cuba."

CUBAVISION

Havana, Cuba

++4:3++

15. Cubavision newscaster announcing Associated Press's story about the U.S. Government's involvement in the creation of a "Cuban Twitter"

A US official said on Friday that efforts by US government agency, USAID, to create a "twitter-like" network in Cuba was not a covert action.

Revelations of a secret US government programme to set up a cellphone-based social network in Cuba are being trumpeted in the island's official media as proof of Havana's repeated allegations that Washington is waging a "cyber-war" to try to stir up unrest.

"USAID kept the White House apprised of its efforts consistent with the way that they have other programmes of this kind elsewhere in the world," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

He also noted that the President and First Lady offered their condolences to the family of AP prize-winning photographer Anja Niedringhaus who was killed on Friday after an Afghan police commander opened fire on her and veteran correspondent Kathy Gannon, who was wounded in the attack.

At the State Department daily briefing, deputy spokesperson Marie Harf also mentioned the two AP journalists.

When asked about Russian troops in Ukraine, Harf said there had been no independent confirmation of any withdrawal of Russian forces from Crimea and the border region.

AP TELEVISION

1. White House spokesman Josh Earnest walks into briefing room

2. Mid of Earnest

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Josh Earnest, White House spokesman:

"Jim, there's no question that the President and his administration support efforts to help Cuban citizens communicate more easily with one another and with the outside world. Our involvement would have been the same in this instance as with any other development programme of this type. USAID kept the White House apprised of its efforts consistent with the way that they have other programmes of this kind elsewhere in the world."

4. Cutaway of reporters in briefing room

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Josh Earnest, White House spokesman:

"The thoughts and prayers of the First Lady and the President go out to the family of Anja Niedringhaus who was killed in Afghanistan overnight. The President and First Lady also send their best wishes and their prayers to Kathy Gannon, who was an AP reporter who was wounded in that incident."

6. Cutaway of Earnest

7. Earnest walks out of briefing room

DOS TV

8. Wide of US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf arriving

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Marie Harf, US State Department spokeswoman:

"Today the Associated Press lost one of its own. Anja Niedringhaus, an internationally acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize winning German photographer. She was shot in Afghanistan's Khost province. A second Canadian journalist who worked for the AP kathy Gannon was also wounded."

10. Cutaway of reporter

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Marie Harf, US State Department spokeswoman:

"That's there's still, you know, tens of thousands on the border with Ukraine. We cannot, last I heard, last I checked with our folks, independently confirm that there had been some troops moved off of it. Obviously we hope they will. But, no update on that."

Cuba said Wednesday it has launched a probe into how hundreds of thousands of customer mobile phone numbers fell into the hands of a U.S. government programme that used them to secretly set up a mobile-based, Twitter-like social network on the island.

An Associated Press investigation revealed last week that the US Agency for International Development programme (USAID) used the data to build a subscriber base for the platform, dubbed ZunZuneo, with the idea that it could be used to stir unrest.

Cuba considers such USAID programmes to be subversive attempts to topple its Communist-run government. Officials told reporters that state telecom company ETECSA had not provided the data to any international operator or entity, and the information was obtained illegally.

"ETECSA wanted to stress in the statement that its user database has not been released to any operator for privacy issues, nor to an agency or to anyone other than within the company itself," said Daniel Ramos, head of security operations for ETECSA.

He did not give details on the probe's progress or any measures that may be taken.

"We condemn the use of this database, which the company did not agree to. And of course, we do not know how this database could have fallen into the hands of the ZunZuneo platform and others already mentioned," he said.

Ramos said ETECSA detected bulk messages being sent through ZunZuneo starting in September 2009 during a mass concert by Colombian singer Juanes, and again in early 2010.

The company complained to 200 operators that had messaging agreements with ETECSA, and threatened to sever relationships if it continued.

Nonetheless ZunZuneo continued to operate until 2012 and built a base of tens of thousands of users before abruptly disappearing.

And until the recent AP investigation, ETECSA had no idea the messages were anything other than unwanted spam, ETECSA officials said.

Some lawmakers in Washington have expressed support for ZunZuneo since AP's original disclosure.

At a House Foreign Affairs hearing on Wednesday, congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, said the network was a US-led democracy effort in Cuba which was "transparent" and "one of the most scrutinised programmes in our foreign aid portfolio."

AP TELEVISION

Havana, Cuba - Recent

1. Vehicles driving down street in Havana

2. Street scene in Havana, man looking at smart phone in the foreground

3. Various of people on their phones

AP TELEVISION

Washington, DC - Recent

4. Pan of documents relating to the ZunZuneo network, a text messaging-based social network in Cuba

POOL

Washington, DC - 9 April 2014

5. Wide shot of House Foreign Affairs Committee

6. Mid of USAID (US Agency for International Development) Administrator Rajiv Shah in front of the committee

"Contrary to what the media have reported, democracy programmes for Cuba are transparent. They are open. The Cuba Democracy programme with its 20-million-dollar price tag, in fact is one of the most scrutinised programmes in our foreign aid portfolio. The real question here is why does the press and some in our congressional family demonise these programmes?"

AP TELEVISION

Washington, DC - March 2014

9. Exterior shots of the USAID headquarters

10. Flag outside the USAID headquarters

AP TELEVISION

Havana, Cuba - 9 April 2014

11. Wide shot of news conference with managers of Cuba Communications Company

"ETECSA (Cuba's state-owned telecom company) wanted to stress in the statement that its user database has not been released to any operator for privacy issues, nor to an agency or to anyone other than within the company itself. We condemn the use of this database, which the company did not agree to. And of course, we do not know how this database could have fallen into the hands of the ZunZuneo platform and others already mentioned."

"the text messaging service is very cheap, insignificant. We even have agreements with operators where the text messaging service is not charged, so I do not see how that money could have been able to reach ETECSA."

"ETECSA continues to develop its services, but this depends on the level of investments that we make from the economic point of view. And of course, our goal is to prevent anyone from inventing a service for our users. The idea is that the company provides all the possible services to prevent these things from happening."

An AP investigation reveals that USAID, which set up a Cuban Twitter-like social media network, also ran an HIV clinic in Cuba as a front to recruit potential political activists against the Communist regime. (Aug. 4)

AS HECTOR BARANDA WALKS THE CUBAN BEACH HE CALLS 'PARADISE', HE OFTEN THINKS WITH REGRET ABOUT SOME FOREIGN VISITORS HE MET IN COLLEGE - ONES HE THOUGHT WERE HIS FRIENDS.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Hector Baranda, Cuban Student:

"We used to go to this or that restaurant at night, let's go here, let's go there. Let's go sit in the park, let's go to a piano bar, that was it.

BUT WHAT BARANDA DIDN'T KNOW - WAS THE YOUNG VENEZUELANS WERE PART OF A SECRET U.S. GOVERNMENT PLAN TO RECRUIT POLITICAL ACTIVISTS IN THE COMMUNIST COUNTRY.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Hector Baranda, Cuban Student:

"How would you feel if you gave sincere friendship and get this type of news - I have never liked being manipulated"

DOCUMENTS OBTAINED BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REVEAL THE PLAN WAS SPEARHEADED BY THE U-S AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

USAID IS BEST KNOWN FOR OVERSEEING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF AID TO THE WORLD'S POOR AND SICK. PART OF ITS MANDATE IS TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY.

HERE'S HOW THE PLAN WORKED:

A US-A-I-D CONTRACTOR CALLED CREATIVE ASSOCIATES RECRUITED YOUNG PEOPLE FROM 3 LATIN AMERICA COUNTRIES.

THOSE RECRUITS WERE TO HEAD TO CUBA TO FIND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BECOME ACTIVISTS AGAINST THE REGIME OF RAUL AND FIDEL CASTRO.

THE MAIN RECRUIT FROM COSTA RICA WAS FERNANDO MURILLO SEEN HERE ON THE LEFT - HE REFUSED TO BE INTERVIEWED ON CAMERA.

AS PART OF MURILLO'S WORK - AN HIV PREVENTION CLINIC WAS STAGED AT THIS SCHOOL. IT WAS A COVER TO REACH OUT TO STUDENTS WITHOUT DRAWING SUSPICION OF THE CUBAN AUTHORITIES. USAID SAID "CUBANS HAD EXPRESSED A DESIRE FOR INFORMATION AND TRAINING ABOUT HIV PREVENTION."

MANUEL BARBOSA INITIALLY WORKED WITH MURILLO'S GROUP - BUT LATER REALIZED WHO THEY ACTUALLY WERE.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Manuel Barbosa, Cuban student:

"When I look at the sponsors I see one of them is USAID and I said to him my activities cannot be associated with this person, with this group of people, and I do not wish to have association with USAID because it will bring me trouble in Cuba."

IN VENEZUELA - A POLITICAL ACTIVIST NAMED ZAIMAR CASTILLO - WAS HIRED TO ORGANIZE ANOTHER GROUP OF YOUNG ACTIVISTS TO GO TO CUBA

THEY STAYED AT A UNIVERSITY DORM, JUST OUTSIDE THE TOWN OF SANTA CLARA - AND TARGETED YOUNG PEOPLE AND MEMBERS OF THE GAY COMMUNITY.

WE TRACKED DOWN CASTILLO IN DUBLIN, IRELAND WHERE SHE IS NOW STUDYING � BUT SHE REFUSED TO COMMENT

{nats door slam}

AS PART OF THE US-AID PLAN, RECRUITS WERE TAUGHT A SYSTEM OF CODED LANGUAGE IN CASE THEY RAN INTO TROUBLE.

'I HAVE A HEADACHE' MEANT - 'WE SUSPECT WE ARE BEING MONITORED'

OR 'RETURN HOME SOONER - YOUR SISTER IS ILL' MEANT - CUT THE TRIP SHORT AND LEAVE

AP ASKED USAID WHAT THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAMS WITH YOUNG CUBANS WAS. IT RESPONDED:

USAID and the Obama Administration are committed to supporting the Cuban people's desire to freely determine their own future. USAID works with independent youth groups in Cuba on community service projects, public health, the arts and other opportunities to engage publicly, consistent with democracy programs worldwide.

THE DOCUMENTS REVEAL THIS PLAN WAS PART OF A BIGGER PROGRAM - WHICH INCLUDED THE CREATION OF A CUBA TWITTER LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK - CALLED ZUNZUNEO - FIRST REPORTED BY THE AP IN APRIL.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Sen. Jeff Flake, (R ) Arizona: "When we learn the details of some of these programs, they are not only a great waste of money, but they compromise our missions elsewhere in the world."

SENATOR JEFF FLAKE IS PART OF THE CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF USAID'S ZUNZUNEO PROGRAM �

SOUNDBITE: (English) Sen. Jeff Flake, (R ) Arizona: "We have become even more brazen, or callous frankly -in the way we have gone about trying to affect policy there."

THE LATEST PROGRAM STARTED IN 2009 AND WENT ON FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS�

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Hector Baranda, Cuban Student:

"I am very shocked by the news you are giving me - because they were our friends."

"When I look at the sponsors, I see one of them is USAID and I said to him my activities cannot be associated with this person, with this group of people. I do not wish to have any association with USAID because it will bring me trouble in Cuba"

24. Various of University "Marta Abreau" where Venezuelan activists visited and reached out fo Cuban young people

AP TELEVISION

Dublin, Ireland - July 25, 2014

25. Zaimer Castillo, a Venezuelan activist who organized other Venezuelans to target Cuban college students runs into house to avoid AP reporter

AP TELEVISION

Washington, D.C. - Recent

26. Wide of USAID flag

AP GRAPHICS

27. Graphic statement from USAID reading translations for coded language, including: "I have a headache" means "We suspect we are being monitored" and "Return home sooner, your sister is ill" means "Cut the trip short and leave."

AP TELEVISION

Washington, D.C. - July 30, 2014

28. Exterior shot of USAID office in Washington, DC

AP GRAPHICS

29. Graphic statement from USAID Reading: USAID and the Obama Administration are committed to supporting the Cuban people's desire to freely determine their own future. USAID works with independent youth groups in Cuba on community service projects, public health, the arts and other opportunities to engage publicly, consistent with democracy programs worldwide.

AP TELEVISION

Havana, Cuba - February 28, 2014

30. Various Cubans using cell phones, which was the focal point of USAID's ZunZuneo program

An AP investigation reveals that USAID, which set up a Cuban Twitter-like social media network, also ran an HIV clinic in Cuba as a front to recruit potential political activists against the Communist regime. (Aug. 4)

AS HECTOR BARANDA WALKS THE CUBAN BEACH HE CALLS 'PARADISE', HE OFTEN THINKS WITH REGRET ABOUT SOME FOREIGN VISITORS HE MET IN COLLEGE - ONES HE THOUGHT WERE HIS FRIENDS.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Hector Baranda, Cuban Student:

"We used to go to this or that restaurant at night, let's go here, let's go there. Let's go sit in the park, let's go to a piano bar, that was it.

BUT WHAT BARANDA DIDN'T KNOW - WAS THE YOUNG VENEZUELANS WERE PART OF A SECRET U.S. GOVERNMENT PLAN TO RECRUIT POLITICAL ACTIVISTS IN THE COMMUNIST COUNTRY.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Hector Baranda, Cuban Student:

"How would you feel if you gave sincere friendship and get this type of news - I have never liked being manipulated"

DOCUMENTS OBTAINED BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REVEAL THE PLAN WAS SPEARHEADED BY THE U-S AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

USAID IS BEST KNOWN FOR OVERSEEING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF AID TO THE WORLD'S POOR AND SICK. PART OF ITS MANDATE IS TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY.

HERE'S HOW THE PLAN WORKED:

A US-A-I-D CONTRACTOR CALLED CREATIVE ASSOCIATES RECRUITED YOUNG PEOPLE FROM 3 LATIN AMERICA COUNTRIES.

THOSE RECRUITS WERE TO HEAD TO CUBA TO FIND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BECOME ACTIVISTS AGAINST THE REGIME OF RAUL AND FIDEL CASTRO.

THE MAIN RECRUIT FROM COSTA RICA WAS FERNANDO MURILLO SEEN HERE ON THE LEFT - HE REFUSED TO BE INTERVIEWED ON CAMERA.

AS PART OF MURILLO'S WORK - AN HIV PREVENTION CLINIC WAS STAGED AT THIS SCHOOL. IT WAS A COVER TO REACH OUT TO STUDENTS WITHOUT DRAWING SUSPICION OF THE CUBAN AUTHORITIES. USAID SAID "CUBANS HAD EXPRESSED A DESIRE FOR INFORMATION AND TRAINING ABOUT HIV PREVENTION."

MANUEL BARBOSA INITIALLY WORKED WITH MURILLO'S GROUP - BUT LATER REALIZED WHO THEY ACTUALLY WERE.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Manuel Barbosa, Cuban student:

"When I look at the sponsors I see one of them is USAID and I said to him my activities cannot be associated with this person, with this group of people, and I do not wish to have association with USAID because it will bring me trouble in Cuba."

IN VENEZUELA - A POLITICAL ACTIVIST NAMED ZAIMAR CASTILLO - WAS HIRED TO ORGANIZE ANOTHER GROUP OF YOUNG ACTIVISTS TO GO TO CUBA

THEY STAYED AT A UNIVERSITY DORM, JUST OUTSIDE THE TOWN OF SANTA CLARA - AND TARGETED YOUNG PEOPLE AND MEMBERS OF THE GAY COMMUNITY.

WE TRACKED DOWN CASTILLO IN DUBLIN, IRELAND WHERE SHE IS NOW STUDYING � BUT SHE REFUSED TO COMMENT

{nats door slam}

AS PART OF THE US-AID PLAN, RECRUITS WERE TAUGHT A SYSTEM OF CODED LANGUAGE IN CASE THEY RAN INTO TROUBLE.

'I HAVE A HEADACHE' MEANT - 'WE SUSPECT WE ARE BEING MONITORED'

OR 'RETURN HOME SOONER - YOUR SISTER IS ILL' MEANT - CUT THE TRIP SHORT AND LEAVE

AP ASKED USAID WHAT THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAMS WITH YOUNG CUBANS WAS. IT RESPONDED:

USAID and the Obama Administration are committed to supporting the Cuban people's desire to freely determine their own future. USAID works with independent youth groups in Cuba on community service projects, public health, the arts and other opportunities to engage publicly, consistent with democracy programs worldwide.

THE DOCUMENTS REVEAL THIS PLAN WAS PART OF A BIGGER PROGRAM - WHICH INCLUDED THE CREATION OF A CUBA TWITTER LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK - CALLED ZUNZUNEO - FIRST REPORTED BY THE AP IN APRIL.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Sen. Jeff Flake, (R ) Arizona: "When we learn the details of some of these programs, they are not only a great waste of money, but they compromise our missions elsewhere in the world."

SENATOR JEFF FLAKE IS PART OF THE CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF USAID'S ZUNZUNEO PROGRAM �

SOUNDBITE: (English) Sen. Jeff Flake, (R ) Arizona: "We have become even more brazen, or callous frankly -in the way we have gone about trying to affect policy there."

THE LATEST PROGRAM STARTED IN 2009 AND WENT ON FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS�

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Hector Baranda, Cuban Student:

"I am very shocked by the news you are giving me - because they were our friends."

"When I look at the sponsors, I see one of them is USAID and I said to him my activities cannot be associated with this person, with this group of people. I do not wish to have any association with USAID because it will bring me trouble in Cuba"

24. Various of University "Marta Abreau" where Venezuelan activists visited and reached out fo Cuban young people

AP TELEVISION

Dublin, Ireland - July 25, 2014

25. Zaimer Castillo, a Venezuelan activist who organized other Venezuelans to target Cuban college students runs into house to avoid AP reporter

AP TELEVISION

Washington, D.C. - Recent

26. Wide of USAID flag

AP GRAPHICS

27. Graphic statement from USAID reading translations for coded language, including: "I have a headache" means "We suspect we are being monitored" and "Return home sooner, your sister is ill" means "Cut the trip short and leave."

AP TELEVISION

Washington, D.C. - July 30, 2014

28. Exterior shot of USAID office in Washington, DC

AP GRAPHICS

29. Graphic statement from USAID Reading: USAID and the Obama Administration are committed to supporting the Cuban people's desire to freely determine their own future. USAID works with independent youth groups in Cuba on community service projects, public health, the arts and other opportunities to engage publicly, consistent with democracy programs worldwide.

AP TELEVISION

Havana, Cuba - February 28, 2014

30. Various Cubans using cell phones, which was the focal point of USAID's ZunZuneo program

A key US Senator criticised during a hearing on Tuesday a Twitter-like social media network secretly created by the United States in Cuba, calling it a "cockamamie idea".

Democratic senator Patrick Leahy, who is also the chairman of a Senate panel that oversees the US Agency for International Development (USAID), demanded to know who came up with the idea to launch the project.

USAID administrator Rajiv Shah said he did not specifically know whose idea it was.

A key question for the hearings is whether the program endangered its users by concealing that the US government was behind it.

The network was publicly launched shortly after the 2009 arrest in Cuba of American contractor Alan Gross.

He was imprisoned there after travelling repeatedly on a separate, clandestine USAID mission to expand Cuban Internet access using sensitive technology that only governments use.

"While we debate what USAID is doing in Cuba, US citizen Alan Gross remains in solitary confinement in his fifth year in capacity, solely because he was carrying out a USAID program which was dumb in its inception," Leahy said.

He also added that the program had "no possibility of working" from its inception.

An AP investigation last week found the program evaded Cuba's Internet restrictions by creating a text-messaging service that could be used to organise political demonstrations.

It drew tens of thousands of subscribers who were unaware it was backed by the Obama administration.

Draft messages produced by the social network, obtained by AP, were overtly political and some taunted the ruling Castro family.

The new disclosures came as the head of the USAID told Congress on Tuesday that the program was never intended to stir unrest within Cuba's government.

ABC - NO ACCESS NORTH AMERICA

1.Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) entering the chambers and shaking hands with Patrick Leahy, United States Democratic Senator for Vermont and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat, Vermont:

"While we debate what USAID is doing in Cuba, US citizen Alan Gross remains in solitary confinement in his fifth year in capacity, solely because he was carrying out a USAID program which was dumb in its inception."

3. Wide of the Senate panel at the hearing

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rajiv Shah, USAID Administrator:

"The program was designed in 2007 and 2008, at that time frame. That said the legislation that crafts the purpose of the program."

"No, whose idea was it for this specific program? I've read the legislation. The legislation doesn't say anything about setting up a cockamamie idea in Cuba with Twitter accounts and all and something that the Cubans would be so easy to discover. Whose idea was this specific program to go to Cuba? Who? It's a simple question.

"I've read USAID's statement and I'll put that in the record, I'll tell you what, I'll put it in the record, both your response to the AP story and the AP story. Having said that, do you know whose idea it was?

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rajiv Shah, USAID Administrator:

"I do not specifically, but I'll say this. Working on creating platforms to improve communication in Cuba and in many other parts of the world is a core part of what USAID has done for some time and continues to do. Our administration's policy is to continue to support efforts to allow for open communications. To the extent that the AP story and any other comment creates the impression that this effort or any other goes beyond that for other ulterior purposes. That is simply inaccurate."

The White House is denying that a program by USAID to set up a "twitter-like" service in Cuba is a covert program.

At the White House daily briefing, Jay Carney said the program run by USAID was a development program designed to help foster democracy in Cuba.

He indicated that the budget for the program had been examined by the General Accounting Office and found to be within guidelines for "development" projects.

Carney says the President does support efforts to expand communications in Cuba.

AP TELEVISION

Washington 3 April 3, 2014

1. SOUNDBITE: Jay Carney, White House Press Spokesman:

"We've seen the story by the AP this morning. The program referred to by the Associated Press was a development program, run by the United States Agency for International Development. And that program was completed in 2012. As you know, USAID is a development agency, not an intelligence agency. Suggestions that this was a covert program are wrong. Congress funds democracy programming for Cuba to help empower Cubans to access more information and to strengthen civil society. This appropriations are public, unlike covert action. The money invested has been debated in Congress. In addition, GAO reviewed this program in detail in 2013 and found that it was conducted in accordance with US law and under appropriate oversight controls. In implementing programs in non-permissive environments, of course the government has taken steps to be discrete. That's how you protect the practitioners and the public. This is not unique to Cuba. More details about the program are available at USAID, and I think that veterans of this briefing room know that when I say a program like this is not covert, and then I talk about it, that's how you know it's not covert."

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee asked the U.S. Agency for International Development on Thursday to turn over all its records about the Obama administration's Twitter-like social media program it secretly built in Cuba. (April 10)

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee asked the U.S. Agency for International Development on Thursday to turn over all its records about the Obama administration's Twitter-like social media program it secretly built in Cuba.

The request included all copies of any messages that the U.S. government or its contractors transmitted to subscribers in Cuba, who never were told about Washington's role in the primitive, text message-based network that was meant to undermine Cuba's communist government.

Congressional hearings this week scrutinized the Obama administration's social media program, known as ZunZuneo when it publicly launched in 2010, and whether USAID should be running such an intelligence-like operation instead of spy outfits like the CIA.

"USAID programs are as of notified designed to promote open accessed information, facilitate communication," said Rajiv Shah, USAID administrator. "Any programs that have further purposes are not implemented by USAID but rather by other parts of the state department or the national endowment for democracy."

Menendez, who made the request without a committee vote, said the review will consider whether USAID's pro-democracy programs in Cuba were consistent with those run in other foreign countries, and whether USAID should operate what it has since acknowledged was a "discreet" program.

Menendez said earlier Thursday that USAID's Cuban program was not "in any way a cockamamie idea." His comments took direct aim at Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who earlier this week criticized the USAID program in similar terms _ marking a rare departure from the Senate's staid tradition of decorum among lawmakers.

"It is dumb, dumb and even dumber to go ahead and suggest that there can be freedom, and we should seek Internet freedom globally, but somehow the people of Cuba don't deserve the same freedom," Menendez said. Leahy last week called the secret program "dumb, dumb, dumb."

AP TELEVISION

Washington - 10 April, 2014

1. Wide of hearing hall from far end

POOL

Washington - 10 April, 2014

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chairman Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey:

"I think it is dumb, dumb, and even dumber to go ahead and suggest that there can be freedom and we should seek freedom of international access and freedom of expression globally but that somehow the people of Cuba don't deserve the same freedom."

3. Wide of people talking in the hall

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida:

"The other argument I've heard is that this is a covert program but in fact this program was reviewed by the general accounting office right."

VOICE UP Rajiv Shah, USAID administrator; "Correct"

"And they made no suggestions for changes. They had no criticisms of how the money was being administered.

"There was no intelligence program, there was no spying on the Cuban government used in this program"

VOICE UP Rajiv Shah, USAID administrator; "no"

AP TELEVISION

Washington - 10 April, 2014

5. Close of Shah listening

POOL

Washington - 10 April, 2014

6. SOUNBITE (English) Rajiv Shah, USAID president:

"USAID programs are as of notified designed to promote open accessed information, facilitate communication. Any programs that have further purposes are not implemented by USAID but rather by other parts of the state department or the national endowment for democracy."

AP TELEVISION

Washington - 10 April, 2014

7. Close of Senator Jeff Flake

POOL

Washington - 10 April, 2014

8. SOUNBITE (English) Senator Jeff Flake, R-Arizona:

"specifically with this one I do have issues. Not with the fact that we have programs like this going but the fact that they're conducted by USAID."

The Associated Press has learned the U.S. government masterminded the creation of a "Cuban Twitter" - a communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba, built with secret shell companies and financed through foreign bank transactions,.

The project, which lasted more than two years and drew tens of thousands of subscribers, sought to evade Cuba's stranglehold on the Internet with a primitive social media platform that would first build a Cuban audience then later push them toward dissent. Yet its users were neither aware it was created by a U.S. agency with ties to the State Department, nor that American contractors were gathering personal data about them.

It is unclear whether the scheme was legal under U.S. law which requires written authorization of covert action by the president and congressional notification .Officials at USAID would not say who had approved the program or whether the White House was aware of it.

At minimum, details uncovered by the AP appear to contradict the U.S. Agency for International Development's longstanding claims that it does not conduct covert actions, and could undermine the agency's mission to deliver aid to the world's poor and vulnerable - an effort that requires the trust and cooperation of foreign governments.

VOICEOVER SCRIPT

ON THE BUSTLING STREETS OF HAVANA PEOPLE STILL TALK ABOUT ZUNZUNEO - A SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK THAT EXPLODED IN POPULARITY.

CUBAN SLANG FOR HUMMINGBIRD � IT EVOKED THE IMAGE OF TWITTER AND HAD TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CELL PHONE USERS.

ERNESTO GUERRA WAS ONE.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Ernesto Guerra, Ex-ZunZuneo User:

"You would log on and write 140 characters. It was free of charge."

BUT WHAT GUERRA DIDN'T KNOW WAS THAT ZUNZUNEO WAS PART OF A U.S. PLAN DESIGNED TO UNDERMINE THE GOVERNMENT OF PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO�. AND HIS BROTHER FIDEL.

AP's INVESTIGATION SHOW THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND THIS WAS THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, A FEDERAL AGENCY BEST KNOWN FOR OVERSEEING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN U.S .HUMANITARIAN AID; WHICH ALSO HAS A MANDATE TO SPREAD DEMOCRACY.

THE SECRET PLAN WAS LED BY USAID MANAGER JOE MCSPEDON WHO REFUSED TO TALK TO AP -

SOT: Nats - Reporter: Was this a covert plan?"

LATER, A US AID SPOKESMAN TOLD AP "NOTHING ABOUT USAID'S CUBA PROGRAMS IS CLASSIFIED OR COVERT IN ANY WAY. WE CARRY OUT PROGRAMS IN A DISCREET MANNER TO HELP ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ALL THOSE INVOLVED"

THE PROGRAM CAME TO LIFE WHEN U.S.A.I.D CONTRACTOR OBTAINED HALF-A-MILLION CELL PHONE NUMBERS ON THE STATE-OWNED MOBILE NETWORK.

THE CONTRACTOR, CREATIVE ASSOCIATES, BASED IN WASHINGTON DC, WAS PAID BY USAID TO HATCH A PLAN TO SEND TEXT MESSAGES TO CUBANS' CELL PHONE OWNERS.

INITIALLY THEY SENT MESSAGES ABOUT TOPICS LIKE THE WEATHER, SOCCER AND MUSIC - TO BUILD AN AUDIENCE AND SO AS NOT TO ALERT THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT . LATER THEY PLANNED TO PUSH MESSAGES WHICH THEY HOPED WOULD ENCOURAGE DISSENT . ONE U.S.A.I.D DOCUMENT SAID THE AIM WAS TO "RENEGOTIATE THE BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN THE STATE AND SOCIETY."

SECRECY WAS CRITICAL

'THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT', READS ONE INTERNAL MEMO OBTAINED BY THE A-P.

FORMER CIA ANALYST FULTON ARMSTRONG WAS WORKING FOR THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE AT THE TIME. HE SAID TENSIONS BETWEEN CONGRESS AND U.S.A.I.D OVER WHAT APPEARED TO BE CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS STARTED BEFORE THE ZUN-ZUNEO PROJECT WAS LAUNCHED.

"We were told we couldn't even be told in broad terms what was happening, because quote, people will die"

U.S.A.I.D SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT IT IS "PROUD OF ITS WORK IN CUBA TO PROVIDE BASIC HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, AND TO HELP INFORMATION FLOW MORE FREELY TO THE CUBAN PEOPLE," WHOM IT SAID HAVE LIVED UNDER AN AUTHORITARIAN REGIME" FOR FIFTY YEARS.

THE AGENCY SAID ITS WORK WAS FOUND TO BE "CONSISTENT.WITH U.S. LAW."

THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ZUN-ZUNEO TEAM TO TEST THE BLAST MESSAGES CAME IN SEPTEMBER OF 2009 - WHEN THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE GATHERED FOR A CONCERT BY LATIN STAR JUANES IN REVOLUTION PLAZA IN HAVANA.

IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE CONCERT - ZUN-ZUNEO SENT OUT HALF A MILLION MESSAGES TO SEE IF CUBAN OFFICIALS REACTED.

OVERSEAS FRONT COMPANIES, FINANCED FROM A BANK IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS, WERE SET UP TO PREVENT CUBAN AUTHORITIES FROM TRACING THE REAL SOURCE OF THE MESSAGES.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Fulton Armstrong, Former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Analyst: "it's a really sad story - when you have bureaucrats with some political intervention going around running operations for which there's no oversight, no transparency."

THE PLAN NEVER GOT TO THE POINT WHERE ANY MESSAGES WERE SENT TO SPARK dissent AGAINST THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT.

IN 2012 THE TEXTING SERVICE TOPPED ABRUPTLY WHEN USAID SAID THE FUNDING ENDED.

Ernesto Guerra, Ex-Zunzuneo User:

Damn! I was on the service for so long and never realized what it really was?"

GUERRA WASN'T THE ONLY ONE.

UNTIL NOW FEW KNEW ZUN-ZUNEO'S REAL PURPOSE. FOR YOUNG CUBANS ITS DISAPPEARANCE WAS AS MYSTERIOUS AS ITS ORIGINS.

DAVID BRUNS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP TELEVISION

Havana - 28 February 2014

1. Wide Old Capitol building and traffic

2. Traffic on Havana street with Old Capitol building in background

3. Various shots of Cubans using cell phones

4. Split box showing Cubans using cell phones, ZunZuneo logo

5. Cutaway shot of Ernesto Guerra and Saimi Reyes who had used ZunZuneo

11. Various exteriors of offices for US Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C.

12. Wide USAID flag outside of USAID offices

AP TELEVISION

++4x3 FILE Tbilisi - August 27, 2008

13. Wide of building in Tbilisi, Georgia where USAID boxes are being loaded and sorted during conflict with Russia in 2008.

Washington - 31 March 2014

14. Walking shot of Joe McSpedon, a US AID manager who headed the ZunZuneo project - UPSOUND: Reporter: Was this a covert operation?'

15. Graphic showing USAID logo with statement to AP: "Nothing about USAID's Cuba programs is classified or covert in any way. We carry out programs in a discreet manner to help ensure the safety of all those involved."

16. Medium shot of USAID flag

17. Medium shot of Cubans on cellphones

Havana - 20 March 2014

18. Exterior shot of Cubacel storefront

Washington - 21 March 2014

19. Close shot of Creative Associates offices in Washington, D.C., a subcontractor for USAID awarded 99 million in government funds last year

30. Graphic from USAID statement reading: "Proud of its work in Cuba to provide basic humanitarian assistance, promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to help information flow more freely to the Cuban people"

Havana - Recent

31. Shot of people in Havana walking on street

Washington - March 21, 2014

32. Close shot of USAID log on building

POOL

Havana, September 20, 2009

33. Various of Colombian music star Juanes performing at a massive concert in Cuba's Revolution Plaza

The Associated Press has learned the U.S. government masterminded the creation of a "Cuban Twitter" - a communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba, built with secret shell companies and financed through foreign bank transactions,.

The project, which lasted more than two years and drew tens of thousands of subscribers, sought to evade Cuba's stranglehold on the Internet with a primitive social media platform that would first build a Cuban audience then later push them toward dissent. Yet its users were neither aware it was created by a U.S. agency with ties to the State Department, nor that American contractors were gathering personal data about them.

It is unclear whether the scheme was legal under U.S. law which requires written authorization of covert action by the president and congressional notification .Officials at USAID would not say who had approved the program or whether the White House was aware of it.

At minimum, details uncovered by the AP appear to contradict the U.S. Agency for International Development's longstanding claims that it does not conduct covert actions, and could undermine the agency's mission to deliver aid to the world's poor and vulnerable - an effort that requires the trust and cooperation of foreign governments.

VOICEOVER SCRIPT

ON THE BUSTLING STREETS OF HAVANA PEOPLE STILL TALK ABOUT ZUNZUNEO - A SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK THAT EXPLODED IN POPULARITY.

CUBAN SLANG FOR HUMMINGBIRD � IT EVOKED THE IMAGE OF TWITTER AND HAD TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CELL PHONE USERS.

ERNESTO GUERRA WAS ONE.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Ernesto Guerra, Ex-ZunZuneo User:

"You would log on and write 140 characters. It was free of charge."

BUT WHAT GUERRA DIDN'T KNOW WAS THAT ZUNZUNEO WAS PART OF A U.S. PLAN DESIGNED TO UNDERMINE THE GOVERNMENT OF PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO�. AND HIS BROTHER FIDEL.

AP's INVESTIGATION SHOW THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND THIS WAS THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, A FEDERAL AGENCY BEST KNOWN FOR OVERSEEING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN U.S .HUMANITARIAN AID; WHICH ALSO HAS A MANDATE TO SPREAD DEMOCRACY.

THE SECRET PLAN WAS LED BY USAID MANAGER JOE MCSPEDON WHO REFUSED TO TALK TO AP -

SOT: Nats - Reporter: Was this a covert plan?"

LATER, A US AID SPOKESMAN TOLD AP "NOTHING ABOUT USAID'S CUBA PROGRAMS IS CLASSIFIED OR COVERT IN ANY WAY. WE CARRY OUT PROGRAMS IN A DISCREET MANNER TO HELP ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ALL THOSE INVOLVED"

THE PROGRAM CAME TO LIFE WHEN U.S.A.I.D CONTRACTOR OBTAINED HALF-A-MILLION CELL PHONE NUMBERS ON THE STATE-OWNED MOBILE NETWORK.

THE CONTRACTOR, CREATIVE ASSOCIATES, BASED IN WASHINGTON DC, WAS PAID BY USAID TO HATCH A PLAN TO SEND TEXT MESSAGES TO CUBANS' CELL PHONE OWNERS.

INITIALLY THEY SENT MESSAGES ABOUT TOPICS LIKE THE WEATHER, SOCCER AND MUSIC - TO BUILD AN AUDIENCE AND SO AS NOT TO ALERT THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT . LATER THEY PLANNED TO PUSH MESSAGES WHICH THEY HOPED WOULD ENCOURAGE DISSENT . ONE U.S.A.I.D DOCUMENT SAID THE AIM WAS TO "RENEGOTIATE THE BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN THE STATE AND SOCIETY."

SECRECY WAS CRITICAL

'THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT', READS ONE INTERNAL MEMO OBTAINED BY THE A-P.

FORMER CIA ANALYST FULTON ARMSTRONG WAS WORKING FOR THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE AT THE TIME. HE SAID TENSIONS BETWEEN CONGRESS AND U.S.A.I.D OVER WHAT APPEARED TO BE CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS STARTED BEFORE THE ZUN-ZUNEO PROJECT WAS LAUNCHED.

"We were told we couldn't even be told in broad terms what was happening, because quote, people will die"

U.S.A.I.D SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT IT IS "PROUD OF ITS WORK IN CUBA TO PROVIDE BASIC HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, AND TO HELP INFORMATION FLOW MORE FREELY TO THE CUBAN PEOPLE," WHOM IT SAID HAVE LIVED UNDER AN AUTHORITARIAN REGIME" FOR FIFTY YEARS.

THE AGENCY SAID ITS WORK WAS FOUND TO BE "CONSISTENT.WITH U.S. LAW."

THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ZUN-ZUNEO TEAM TO TEST THE BLAST MESSAGES CAME IN SEPTEMBER OF 2009 - WHEN THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE GATHERED FOR A CONCERT BY LATIN STAR JUANES IN REVOLUTION PLAZA IN HAVANA.

IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE CONCERT - ZUN-ZUNEO SENT OUT HALF A MILLION MESSAGES TO SEE IF CUBAN OFFICIALS REACTED.

OVERSEAS FRONT COMPANIES, FINANCED FROM A BANK IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS, WERE SET UP TO PREVENT CUBAN AUTHORITIES FROM TRACING THE REAL SOURCE OF THE MESSAGES.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Fulton Armstrong, Former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Analyst: "it's a really sad story - when you have bureaucrats with some political intervention going around running operations for which there's no oversight, no transparency."

THE PLAN NEVER GOT TO THE POINT WHERE ANY MESSAGES WERE SENT TO SPARK dissent AGAINST THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT.

IN 2012 THE TEXTING SERVICE TOPPED ABRUPTLY WHEN USAID SAID THE FUNDING ENDED.

Ernesto Guerra, Ex-Zunzuneo User:

Damn! I was on the service for so long and never realized what it really was?"

GUERRA WASN'T THE ONLY ONE.

UNTIL NOW FEW KNEW ZUN-ZUNEO'S REAL PURPOSE. FOR YOUNG CUBANS ITS DISAPPEARANCE WAS AS MYSTERIOUS AS ITS ORIGINS.

DAVID BRUNS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP TELEVISION

Havana - 28 February 2014

1. Wide Old Capitol building and traffic

2. Traffic on Havana street with Old Capitol building in background

3. Various shots of Cubans using cell phones

4. Split box showing Cubans using cell phones, ZunZuneo logo

5. Cutaway shot of Ernesto Guerra and Saimi Reyes who had used ZunZuneo

11. Various exteriors of offices for US Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C.

12. Wide USAID flag outside of USAID offices

AP TELEVISION

++4x3 FILE Tbilisi - August 27, 2008

13. Wide of building in Tbilisi, Georgia where USAID boxes are being loaded and sorted during conflict with Russia in 2008.

Washington - 31 March 2014

14. Walking shot of Joe McSpedon, a US AID manager who headed the ZunZuneo project - UPSOUND: Reporter: Was this a covert operation?'

15. Graphic showing USAID logo with statement to AP: "Nothing about USAID's Cuba programs is classified or covert in any way. We carry out programs in a discreet manner to help ensure the safety of all those involved."

16. Medium shot of USAID flag

17. Medium shot of Cubans on cellphones

Havana - 20 March 2014

18. Exterior shot of Cubacel storefront

Washington - 21 March 2014

19. Close shot of Creative Associates offices in Washington, D.C., a subcontractor for USAID awarded 99 million in government funds last year

30. Graphic from USAID statement reading: "Proud of its work in Cuba to provide basic humanitarian assistance, promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to help information flow more freely to the Cuban people"

Havana - Recent

31. Shot of people in Havana walking on street

Washington - March 21, 2014

32. Close shot of USAID log on building

POOL

Havana, September 20, 2009

33. Various of Colombian music star Juanes performing at a massive concert in Cuba's Revolution Plaza

The U.S. government masterminded the creation of a "Cuban Twitter" - a communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba, built with secret shell companies and financed through foreign banks, The Associated Press has learned.

The project, which lasted more than two years and drew tens of thousands of subscribers, sought to evade Cuba's stranglehold on the Internet with a primitive social media platform.

First, the network would build a Cuban audience, mostly young people; then, the plan was to push them toward dissent.

Yet its users were neither aware it was created by a U.S. agency with ties to the State Department, nor that American contractors were gathering personal data about them, in the hope that the information might be used someday for political purposes.

It is unclear whether the scheme was legal under U.S. law, which requires written authorization of covert action by the president and congressional notification.

Officials at USAID would not say who had approved the program or whether the White House was aware of it. The Cuban government declined a request for comment.

At minimum, details uncovered by the AP appear to muddy the U.S. Agency for International Development's longstanding claims that it does not conduct covert actions, and could undermine the agency's mission to deliver aid to the world's poor and vulnerable - an effort that requires the trust and cooperation of foreign governments.

On the bustling streets of Havana people still talk about ZunZuneo, a social media network that exploded in popularity.

Cuban slang for hummingbird, it evoked the image of Twitter and had tens of thousands of cell phone users.

Ernesto Guerra, a former ZunZuneo was one.

"It was a very noble service," Guerra said.

"You would log on and you could write 140 characters and hit send. It was free of charge."

His friend, Saimi Reyes, another user, said, "sometimes I would wonder where this is from, where does the money come from because all this for nothing wasn't possible."

But what they didn't know was that ZunZuneo was part of a US plan designed to undermine the regime of President Raul Castro and his brother Fidel.

The AP obtained more than 1,000 pages of documents from contractors about the development of ZunZuneo.

It independently verified the project's scope and details in the documents through publicly available databases, government sources and interviews with those involved in ZunZuneo.

AP's investigation showed the organisation behind this was the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a federal agency best known for overseeing billions of dollars in US humanitarian aid, which also has a mandate to spread democracy.

The project was led by USAID manager Joe McSpedon.

He refused to talk to AP when asked about the secret plan.

A USAID spokesman told AP "nothing about USAID's Cuba programmes is classified or covert in any way. We carry out programmes in a discreet manner to help ensure the safety of all those involved."

The programme came to life after a USAID contractor obtained half-a-million cell phone numbers on the state-owned mobile network - Cubacel.

The contractor, Creative Associates International, based in Washington DC, was paid by USAID to hatch a plan to send text messages to Cuban cell phone owners.

Initially they sent messages about topics like the weather, soccer and music, to build an audience and so as not to alert the Cuban government.

Later they planned to push messages which they hoped would encourage dissent.

One USAID document said the aim was to "renegotiate the balance of power between the state and society."

Secrecy was critical.

'There will be absolutely no mention of United States government involvement' reads one, according to a 2010 memo from Mobile Accord Incorporated, one of the project's creators.

"They were protecting not just the legitimate things, the identities of people and all that, they didn't want anyone to know what they were up to," said former CIA analyst Fulton Armstrong, who was working for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time.

He said tensions between Congress and USAID over what appeared to be clandestine operations began after the 2009 arrest in Cuba of American contractor Alan Gross.

Gross was convicted for his activities of travelling repeatedly to the country on a separate, clandestine USAID mission to expand internet access using sensitive technology only governments use.

Armstrong said "it's true that every agency of the US government, including unclassified programmes, want to protect certain details of who they're working with and all of that.

But this was far beyond.

We were told we couldn't even be told in broad terms what was going on because, quote, "people will die.''

USAID said in a statement that it is "proud of its work in Cuba to provide basic humanitarian assistance, promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to help information flow more freely to the Cuban people" whom it said have lived under an authoritarian regime for fifty years.

The agency said its work was found to be "consistent with US law."

The first opportunity for the ZunZuneo team to test what they called "blast messages" came in September of 2009 when thousands of young people gathered in central Havana for a concert by the Latin singing star Juanes.

In the weeks leading up to the show, ZunZuneo sent out half a million messages to see how Cuban officials reacted.

Overseas front companies, financed from a bank in the Cayman Islands, were set up to prevent Cuban authorities from tracing the real source of the messages.

The plan never got to the point where any messages were sent to spark dissent.

In 2012 the texting service stopped abruptly.

USAID said the funding ended.

Ernesto Guerra said: "If tomorrow we discover that ZunZuneo was part of USAID or some other similar project, my first reaction would be, damn! I was on the service for so long and never realised what it really was"

Guerra wasn't the only one.

Until now few knew ZunZuneo's real purpose.

For young Cubans its disappearance was as mysterious as its origins.

AP TELEVISION

Havana - 28 February 2014

++16:9++

1. Old Capitol building and traffic in Havana

2. Traffic on Havana street with Old Capitol building in background

3. Various shots of Cubans using cell phones

4. Cutaway shot of Enresto Guerra and Saimi Reyes who had used ZunZuneo

5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ernesto Guerra, ex-ZunZuneo user:

"It was a very noble service. You would log on and you could write 140 characters and hit send. It was free of charge."

6. Cutaway shot of Enresto Guerra and Saimi Reyes who had used ZunZuneo

7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Saimi Reyes, ex-Zunzuneo user:

"Sometimes I would wonder where this is from, where does the money come from? Because all this for nothing wasn't possible."

"They were protecting not just the legitimate things, identity of people involved and all of that. They didn't want anybody to know what they were up to."

AP PHOTOS - NO ACCESS CANADA/ FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY - STRICTLY NO ACCESS ONLINE OR MOBILE

25. STILL provided by the Gross family shows Alan and Judy Gross.

26. November 27 2012 STILL provided by US lawyer James L. Berenthal showing jailed American Alan Gross poses for a photo during a visit by Rabbi Elie Abadie and Berenthal at Finlay military hospital in Havana, Cuba.

"It's true that every agency of the US government, including unclassified programs want to protect certain details on who they're working with and all of that. But this was far beyond. We were told we couldn't even be told in broad terms what was happening because, quote, 'people will die.''

POOL

Havana - September 20 2009

++4:3++

29. Various of Colombian music star Juanes performing at a massive concert in Cuba's Revolution Plaza

AP TELEVISION

Havana - 28 March 2014

++16:9++

30. Various Cubans using cell phones

31. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ernesto Guerra, ex-Zunzuneo user:

"If tomorrow we discover that ZunZuneo was part of USAID or some other similar project, my first reaction would be, damn! I was on the service for so long and never realised what it really was?"

Costa Rica's government has asked Washington to explain why it devised a secret 'Cuban Twitter' social media network from inside the Central American nation's borders.

Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla confirmed on Thursday that she approved a diplomatic note her government sent to the US Embassy in San Jose asking about the social media network.

"The appropriate (diplomatic) note was sent to make our position known and from our point of view there is nothing more to add," Chinchilla told reporters at a government event in San Jose.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) created ZunZuneo to stir political unrest in Cuba, but its users were unaware it was backed by the US government.

In early April, the Associated Press reported that ZunZuneo's development team initially operated out of Central America.

A USAID manager supervised the work of US contractor Creative Associates International from an office in the capital San Jose.

The US government has denied that the program was secret or that it had a political agenda.

Documents obtained by the AP show that contractors working on ZunZuneo went to extensive lengths to hide its ties to the US, using foreign companies and computer servers paid for via a bank account in the Cayman Islands.

They did so after acquiring more than 400,000 mobile phone numbers from Cuba's state-run telecommunications provider.

AP TELEVISION

1. Wide of Laura Chinchilla, Costa Rica President speaking at an event of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration

"Look, when we learned through the AP (about social media network ZunZuneo), which was the (news agency) that brought this information to light, we officially requested that the government of the United States clarify the facts, as they have been reported. The government of the republic (Costa Rica) was unaware of the issue (meaning ZunZuneo's existence), the issue came about in 2008 and we are waiting for the response from the government of the United States."

The Obama administration sought to defend its creation of a 'Twitter-like' Cuban communications network on Thursday, as senior Democrats on congressional intelligence and judiciary committees say they knew nothing about the project.

The US government said early on Thursday that it had disclosed the ZunZuneo initiative to Congress, but hours later the narrative had shifted to say that the administration had offered to discuss funding for it with the congressional committees that approve federal programmes and budgets.

One Senator, and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Patrick Leahy, has described ZunZuneo as "dumb, dumb, dumb".

"This was not a very bright move on their part and I don't know many Americans who would think it was," he told the Associated Press.

ZunZuneo's organisers wanted the social network to grow slowly to avoid detection by the Cuban government.

Eventually, documents and interviews reveal, they hoped the network would reach critical mass so that dissidents could organise "smart mobs" - mass gatherings called at a moment's notice - that could trigger political demonstrations, or "renegotiate the balance of power between the state and society."

Yet its users were neither aware it was created by a US agency with ties to the State Department, nor that US contractors were gathering personal data about them, in the hope that the information might be used someday for political purposes.

USAID (US Agency of International Development)'s top official, Rajiv Shah, is scheduled to testify on Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, on the agency's budget.

"I'm going to ask why, well two basic questions. Why weren't we specifically told about this if you're asking us for money? And secondly, whose bright idea was this anyway?" Said Subcommittee Chairman Leahy.

Congressman Joe Garcia, also a Democrat, spoke out in support of the programme, saying "it falls in line with what I think we should be doing, which is promoting conversation, debate, openness, democracy, and that's what this programme was doing."

It is unclear whether the scheme was legal under US law, which requires written authorisation of covert action by the President as well as congressional notification.

White House Spokesman Jay Carney said he was not aware of individuals in the White House who had known about the programme.

Adding that in "a place like Cuba, you're discrete about how you implement it so that you protect the practitioners, but that does not make it covert."

"We believe that the Cuban people need platforms like this (ZunZuneo) to use themselves, to decide what their future will look like," said State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf.

Harf described the programme as "discreet" but said it was in no way classified or covert.

Harf also said the project did not rise to a level that required the Secretary of State to be notified.

Neither former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton nor John Kerry, the current occupant of the office, was aware of ZunZuneo, she said.

++16:9++

AP TELEVISION

Washington DC, USA - 3 April 2014

1. Mid of Senator Patrick Leahy walking in the Russell Rotunda

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat, Vermont:

"This was not a very bright move on their part and I don't know many Americans who would think it was."

++16:9++

AP TELEVISION

Havana, Cuba - 3 April 2014

3. Wide of man talking on mobile phone

++16:9++

Washington DC, USA - 3 April 2014

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat, Vermont:

"(About USAID, US Agency of International Development, asking the Senate for permission) I know they said we were notified. We were notified in the most oblique way that nobody could understand it. (About the hearing Leahy is holding on Tuesday, 8 April with USAID director Rajiv Shah about USAID's annual budget) I'm going to ask why, well, two basic questions. Why weren't we specifically told about this if you're asking us for money? And secondly, whose bright idea was this anyway?"

"Instead we have something that now puts these young Cubans who didn't know who they were dealing with at risk, because it would be so easy to go back and find out just who they communicated with."

7. Wide of Congressman Joe Garcia walking in the Cannon Rotunda in US Capitol

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Congressman Joe Garcia, Democrat, Florida:

"I think what we should be shocked about is that the Cubans have no access to Facebook or Twitter, as opposed to the US government trying to promote discourse which I think is a very good thing. It promotes the values which we as a country espouse, which is democracy, dissent, communication, conversation and that's what this programme was trying to do."

++4:3++

FILE: Tbilisi, Georgia - August 2008

9. Wide of workers loading USAID boxes

++16:9++

Washington DC - 3 April 2014

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Congressman Joe Garcia, Democrat, Florida:

"I wish I could take credit for this programme. It wasn't my idea, but it falls in line with everything I think we should be doing, which is promoting conversation, debate, openness, democracy, and that's what this programme was doing."

11. Wide of White House Spokesman Jay Carney walking to podium

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Jay Carney, White House Spokesman:

"When you have a programme like that in a non-permissive environment, i.e. a place like Cuba, you're discrete about how you implement it so that you protect the practitioners, but that does not make it covert."

DOS TV

13. US State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf walks to podium

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Marie Harf, State Department Spokeswoman:

"We believe that the Cuban people need platforms like this to use themselves, to decide what their future will look like."

The White House is denying that a program by USAID to set up a "twitter-like" service in Cuba is a covert program.

At the White House daily briefing, Jay Carney said the program run by USAID was a development program designed to help foster democracy in Cuba.

He indicated that the budget for the program had been examined by the General Accounting Office and found to be within guidelines for "development" projects.

Carney also aid the President does support efforts to expand communications in Cuba.

AP TELEVISION

Washington 3 April 3, 2014

1. SOUNDBITE: Jay Carney, White House Press Spokesman:

"We've seen the story by the AP this morning. The program referred to by the Associated Press was a development program, run by the United States Agency for International Development. And that program was completed in 2012. As you know, USAID is a development agency, not an intelligence agency. Suggestions that this was a covert program are wrong. Congress funds democracy programming for Cuba to help empower Cubans to access more information and to strengthen civil society. This appropriations are public, unlike covert action. The money invested has been debated in Congress. In addition, GAO reviewed this program in detail in 2013 and found that it was conducted in accordance with US law and under appropriate oversight controls. In implementing programs in non-permissive environments, of course the government has taken steps to be discrete. That's how you protect the practitioners and the public. This is not unique to Cuba. More details about the program are available at USAID, and I think that veterans of this briefing room know that when I say a program like this is not covert, and then I talk about it, that's how you know it's not covert."

The Associated Press has learned the U.S. government masterminded the creation of a "Cuban Twitter" - a communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba, built with secret shell companies and financed through foreign bank transactions,.

The project, which lasted more than two years and drew tens of thousands of subscribers, sought to evade Cuba's stranglehold on the Internet with a primitive social media platform that would first build a Cuban audience then later push them toward dissent. Yet its users were neither aware it was created by a U.S. agency with ties to the State Department, nor that American contractors were gathering personal data about them.

It is unclear whether the scheme was legal under U.S. law which requires written authorization of covert action by the president and congressional notification .Officials at USAID would not say who had approved the program or whether the White House was aware of it.

At minimum, details uncovered by the AP appear to contradict the U.S. Agency for International Development's longstanding claims that it does not conduct covert actions, and could undermine the agency's mission to deliver aid to the world's poor and vulnerable - an effort that requires the trust and cooperation of foreign governments.

VOICEOVER SCRIPT

ON THE BUSTLING STREETS OF HAVANA PEOPLE STILL TALK ABOUT ZUNZUNEO - A SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK THAT EXPLODED IN POPULARITY.

CUBAN SLANG FOR HUMMINGBIRD � IT EVOKED THE IMAGE OF TWITTER AND HAD TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CELL PHONE USERS.

ERNESTO GUERRA WAS ONE.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Ernesto Guerra, Ex-ZunZuneo User:

"You would log on and write 140 characters. It was free of charge."

BUT WHAT GUERRA DIDN'T KNOW WAS THAT ZUNZUNEO WAS PART OF A U.S. PLAN DESIGNED TO UNDERMINE THE GOVERNMENT OF PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO�. AND HIS BROTHER FIDEL.

AP's INVESTIGATION SHOW THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND THIS WAS THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, A FEDERAL AGENCY BEST KNOWN FOR OVERSEEING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN U.S .HUMANITARIAN AID; WHICH ALSO HAS A MANDATE TO SPREAD DEMOCRACY.

THE SECRET PLAN WAS LED BY USAID MANAGER JOE MCSPEDON WHO REFUSED TO TALK TO AP -

SOT: Nats - Reporter: Was this a covert plan?"

LATER, A US AID SPOKESMAN TOLD AP "NOTHING ABOUT USAID'S CUBA PROGRAMS IS CLASSIFIED OR COVERT IN ANY WAY. WE CARRY OUT PROGRAMS IN A DISCREET MANNER TO HELP ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ALL THOSE INVOLVED"

THE PROGRAM CAME TO LIFE WHEN U.S.A.I.D CONTRACTOR OBTAINED HALF-A-MILLION CELL PHONE NUMBERS ON THE STATE-OWNED MOBILE NETWORK.

THE CONTRACTOR, CREATIVE ASSOCIATES, BASED IN WASHINGTON DC, WAS PAID BY USAID TO HATCH A PLAN TO SEND TEXT MESSAGES TO CUBANS' CELL PHONE OWNERS.

INITIALLY THEY SENT MESSAGES ABOUT TOPICS LIKE THE WEATHER, SOCCER AND MUSIC - TO BUILD AN AUDIENCE AND SO AS NOT TO ALERT THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT . LATER THEY PLANNED TO PUSH MESSAGES WHICH THEY HOPED WOULD ENCOURAGE DISSENT . ONE U.S.A.I.D DOCUMENT SAID THE AIM WAS TO "RENEGOTIATE THE BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN THE STATE AND SOCIETY."

SECRECY WAS CRITICAL

'THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT', READS ONE INTERNAL MEMO OBTAINED BY THE A-P.

FORMER CIA ANALYST FULTON ARMSTRONG WAS WORKING FOR THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE AT THE TIME. HE SAID TENSIONS BETWEEN CONGRESS AND U.S.A.I.D OVER WHAT APPEARED TO BE CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS STARTED BEFORE THE ZUN-ZUNEO PROJECT WAS LAUNCHED.

"We were told we couldn't even be told in broad terms what was happening, because quote, people will die"

U.S.A.I.D SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT IT IS "PROUD OF ITS WORK IN CUBA TO PROVIDE BASIC HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE, PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, AND TO HELP INFORMATION FLOW MORE FREELY TO THE CUBAN PEOPLE," WHOM IT SAID HAVE LIVED UNDER AN AUTHORITARIAN REGIME" FOR FIFTY YEARS.

THE AGENCY SAID ITS WORK WAS FOUND TO BE "CONSISTENT.WITH U.S. LAW."

THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ZUN-ZUNEO TEAM TO TEST THE BLAST MESSAGES CAME IN SEPTEMBER OF 2009 - WHEN THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE GATHERED FOR A CONCERT BY LATIN STAR JUANES IN REVOLUTION PLAZA IN HAVANA.

IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE CONCERT - ZUN-ZUNEO SENT OUT HALF A MILLION MESSAGES TO SEE IF CUBAN OFFICIALS REACTED.

OVERSEAS FRONT COMPANIES, FINANCED FROM A BANK IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS, WERE SET UP TO PREVENT CUBAN AUTHORITIES FROM TRACING THE REAL SOURCE OF THE MESSAGES.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Fulton Armstrong, Former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Analyst: "it's a really sad story - when you have bureaucrats with some political intervention going around running operations for which there's no oversight, no transparency."

THE PLAN NEVER GOT TO THE POINT WHERE ANY MESSAGES WERE SENT TO SPARK dissent AGAINST THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT.

IN 2012 THE TEXTING SERVICE TOPPED ABRUPTLY WHEN USAID SAID THE FUNDING ENDED.

Ernesto Guerra, Ex-Zunzuneo User:

Damn! I was on the service for so long and never realized what it really was?"

GUERRA WASN'T THE ONLY ONE.

UNTIL NOW FEW KNEW ZUN-ZUNEO'S REAL PURPOSE. FOR YOUNG CUBANS ITS DISAPPEARANCE WAS AS MYSTERIOUS AS ITS ORIGINS.

DAVID BRUNS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP TELEVISION

Havana - 28 February 2014

1. Wide Old Capitol building and traffic

2. Traffic on Havana street with Old Capitol building in background

3. Various shots of Cubans using cell phones

4. Split box showing Cubans using cell phones, ZunZuneo logo

5. Cutaway shot of Ernesto Guerra and Saimi Reyes who had used ZunZuneo

11. Various exteriors of offices for US Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C.

12. Wide USAID flag outside of USAID offices

AP TELEVISION

++4x3 FILE Tbilisi - August 27, 2008

13. Wide of building in Tbilisi, Georgia where USAID boxes are being loaded and sorted during conflict with Russia in 2008.

Washington - 31 March 2014

14. Walking shot of Joe McSpedon, a US AID manager who headed the ZunZuneo project - UPSOUND: Reporter: Was this a covert operation?'

15. Graphic showing USAID logo with statement to AP: "Nothing about USAID's Cuba programs is classified or covert in any way. We carry out programs in a discreet manner to help ensure the safety of all those involved."

16. Medium shot of USAID flag

17. Medium shot of Cubans on cellphones

Havana - 20 March 2014

18. Exterior shot of Cubacel storefront

Washington - 21 March 2014

19. Close shot of Creative Associates offices in Washington, D.C., a subcontractor for USAID awarded 99 million in government funds last year

30. Graphic from USAID statement reading: "Proud of its work in Cuba to provide basic humanitarian assistance, promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to help information flow more freely to the Cuban people"

Havana - Recent

31. Shot of people in Havana walking on street

Washington - March 21, 2014

32. Close shot of USAID log on building

POOL

Havana, September 20, 2009

33. Various of Colombian music star Juanes performing at a massive concert in Cuba's Revolution Plaza

US President Donald Trump and Republican Senator Bob Corker on Sunday traded barbed tweets in an unusually harsh exchange between a president and a senator from his own party.

Trump began by stating that the retiring Tennessee senator had "begged" him for an endorsement for his re-election campaign.

The president tweeted he turned him down and that Corker then decided not to run again because he couldn't win without Trump's backing.

The president also contended that Corker "didn't have the guts to run" for a third term.

Corker responded with a jab of his own.

He tweeted: "It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning."

A spokesman for Corker later in the day disputed a key Trump assertion, saying that the president in fact told the senator he would have endorsed him for another term.

And The Associated Press has reported that Trump and Corker met privately at the White House last month, and that the president urged the senator to run.

In his tweets on Sunday, Trump also said he now expected Corker "to be a negative voice and stand in the way" of the White House's agenda, and accused him of being "largely responsible" for the landmark Iran nuclear deal.

But the Obama administration negotiated the international agreement, and Corker tried to require that President Barack Obama submit it to Congress for approval.

The two-term senator, who is also the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, has taken a critical line toward the White House, and the president's leadership.

He recently said that the Pentagon chief, the secretary of state and Trump's own chief of staff were "those people that help separate our country from chaos".

The fact that the senator is not running for re-election gives him even more elbow room to say what he wants and to vote how he pleases over the next 15 months as Trump and Republican leaders struggle to get their agenda on track.

US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S TWITTER PAGE/@realDonaldTrump

Internet - 8 October 2017

1. Screengrab of tweet saying: "Senator Bob Corker "begged" me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said "NO" and he dropped out (said he could not win without..."

2. Screengrab of tweet saying: "...my endorsement). He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said "NO THANKS." He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal!"

3. Screengrab of tweet saying: "...Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn't have the guts to run!"

4. Screengrab of tweet saying: "Bob Corker gave us the Iran Deal, &amp; that's about it. We need HealthCare, we need Tax Cuts/Reform, we need people that can get the job done!"

US SENATOR BOB CORKER'S TWITTER PAGE/@SenBobCorker

Internet - 8 October 2017

5. Screengrab of tweet saying: "It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning."

Cuban dissidents, along with their relatives and supporters, said on Friday that the island's government had this week freed at least 38 people on a US list of imprisoned opposition members.

US officials said after weeks of virtual silence that those released were on the list of 53.

Ben Rhodes, the deputy US national security adviser who negotiated the releases as part of a broader detente with Cuba, said on Twitter: "The United States welcomes the substantial and ongoing releases of prisoners in Cuba - so good to see people reunited with their families."

One of the dissidents released was Miguel Alberto Ulloa, who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday.

"For many years President (Raul) Castro has kept it (Cuba) practically out of touch from the rest of the world," he said.

"One of the things (US President Barack) Obama said is that something could occur (referring to improved diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US) but only as long as there is democracy and freedom of expression, something that still doesn't exist in Cuba," he added.

A Miami-based Cuba-American group has said three other dissidents on the list were freed last month, for a total of 41 to be let go.

Wilberto Parada, another of the dissidents released this week, said: "I do what I do for my own moral beliefs, I am not an agent of the United States. I am a free man, I have my own thoughts, I am in Cuba and I am a Cuban."

AP TELEVISION

Havana, Cuba - 9 January, 2015

1. Hand-painted message on water tank at the home of released Cuban dissident Miguel Alberto Ulloa reading (Spanish) "Change"

2. Hand-painted message on water tank reading (English) "USA-Cuba"

3. Ulloa and his relatives (Ulloa is wearing a red T-shirt and carrying his son) walking next to water tank

"For many years President (Raul) Castro has kept it (Cuba) practically out of touch from the rest of the world. One of the things (US President Barack) Obama said is that something could occur (referring to improved diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US) but only as long as there is democracy and freedom of expression, something that still doesn't exist in Cuba."

"I think they (government authorities) should respect the agreements (between Cuba and the US), and that it could benefit those who think like this (referring to dissidents), and for more freedom of expression."

10. People and traffic on Havana street

11. Various of released political prisoner Wilberto Parada hugging wife and son inside their home

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday met representatives on both sides of Colombian peace talks in the Cuban capital.

Photos released by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) show Kerry with guerrilla leaders — including the top commander, Rodrigo Londono, who goes by the name "Timochenko".

The FARC said in an open letter that it asked for Washington to consider it "a trustworthy partner in the building of a continental peace" and recognise it as a political organization.

The FARC is designated as an extremist group by Washington.

Humberto de la Calle, the chief negotiator for the Colombian government, said the encounter with Kerry was "very productive".

The US-backed Colombian government and the FARC have been holding peace talks on the communist island since 2012.

Negotiators from the FARC and Colombia's government have also been invited to watch with US President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba's national team.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday met representatives on both sides of Colombian peace talks in the Cuban capital.

Photos released by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) show Kerry with guerrilla leaders — including the top commander, Rodrigo Londono, who goes by the name "Timochenko".

The FARC said in an open letter that it asked for Washington to consider it "a trustworthy partner in the building of a continental peace" and recognise it as a political organization.

The FARC is designated as an extremist group by Washington.

Humberto de la Calle, the chief negotiator for the Colombian government, said the encounter with Kerry was "very productive".

The US-backed Colombian government and the FARC have been holding peace talks on the communist island since 2012.

Negotiators from the FARC and Colombia's government have also been invited to watch with US President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba's national team.

REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA (FARC) TWITTER PAGE - AP CLIENTS ONLY / AP PROVIDES ACCESS TO THIS HANDOUT PHOTO TO BE USED SOLELY TO ILLUSTRATE NEWS REPORTING OR COMMENTARY ON THE FACTS OR EVENTS DEPICTED IN THIS IMAGE / THIS IMAGE MAY BE USED ONLY FOR 14 DAYS FROM THE TIME OF TRANSMISSION / NO ARCHIVING / NO LICENSING

Havana - 21 March 2016

1. In this photo released via the twitter page of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), US Secretary of State John Kerry (screen-second-right) meets members of the FARC

2. STILL: In this photo released by the office of Colombia's Peace Commissioner, US Secretary of State John Kerry (screen-second-left) and US Special Envoy for the Colombian Peace Process Bernard Aronson (screen-left) meet Colombia's Peace Commissioner Sergio Jaramillo (screen-right), head of the Colombia's government negotiation team Humberto de la Calle (screen-third-from-right), and other members of the Colombian government team holding peace talks with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

"It was a very productive meeting. First, we had the opportunity to thank the US for support toward the (peace) process, which has been definitive. Then we examined in extraordinary detail the progress of the talks, the issues already achieved, what is missing, the challenges of the immediate future of the talks."

4. STILL: In this photo released by the office of Colombia's Peace Commissioner, US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Special Envoy for the Colombian Peace Process Bernard Aronson meet Colombia's Peace Commissioner Sergio Jaramillo, head of the Colombia's government negotiation team Humberto de la Calle and other members of the Colombian government team holding peace talks with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

"The US government has a very clear purpose to continue its support for the (peace) talks, to be ready in a very concrete way during the post-conflict. It has been mentioned, and Mr. Kerry reiterated it, (US) fiscal and monetary support for investments required for the post-conflict."

6. STILL: In this photo released by the office of Colombia's Peace Commissioner, US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Special Envoy for the Colombian Peace Process Bernard Aronson meet Colombia's Peace Commissioner Sergio Jaramillo, head of the Colombia's government negotiation team Humberto de la Calle and other members of the Colombian government team holding peace talks with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini met with Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on Sunday during her trip to Cuba for the Cuba-European Union Joint Council in Havana.

Rodríguez said via Twitter said that the work of the joint committee has shown that "there are more elements that unite us than those that separate us," adding "we will continue to work with respect, trust, transparency and cooperation."

Cuba is in a delicate economic situation with little growth and its main partner in Latin America, Venezuela, is facing political and financial tensions.

Mogherini's visit to Cuba comes at a time when US President Donald Trump's administration has toughened sanctions against the island nation.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson said on Sunday that he intends to press on with a bid to mediate the retrieval of a former US soldier captured by Colombian rebels three months ago, despite the cool response to his plan from that country's president.

Jackson said he still plans to travel to Colombia in the coming days in hopes of negotiating a cease-fire for a patch of jungle where US citizen Kevin Scott Sutay can be picked up safely.

The guerrilla army known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has repeatedly called for a halt to hostilities during peace talks being carried out in Havana since November, but Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has refused.

Jackson said a lengthy pause in the fighting is not necessary for his mission.

Jackson announced on Saturday that he had accepted a FARC invitation to intervene in the case of Sutay, who was detained by the rebels while hiking through the jungle in June.

According to the FARC, Sutay was wearing military fatigues and carrying surveillance equipment.

Jackson said the guerrillas told him that Sutay is "free to leave," but the logistics of that happening safely have to be worked out.

"We need the ceasefire zone and the capacity to retrieve him," Jackson told reporters after meeting with FARC leadership in Havana's Hotel Nacional on Sunday.

Following the announcement on Saturday, Santos said on Twitter that "only the Red Cross will be authorised to facilitate the handover of the North American kidnapped by the FARC. We will not allow a media spectacle."

Santos has repeatedly said he would not send public figures to retrieve Sutay, insisting it be done discreetly by the International Red Cross.

The Red Cross in Colombia sought to stay out of the fray.

Jackson expressed the hope the talks in Cuba will yield a peace agreement and said he remains optimistic a deal can be negotiated on Sutay.

He said on Sunday that he felt Santos had been "full of goodwill" following meetings between the two about Sutay in Colombia two weeks ago, and said he felt the Colombian president really did want to resolve the issue.

AP TELEVISION

1. Various of Reverend Jesse Jackson walking accompanied by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) leadership, FARC lead negotiator in peace talks with Colombian government Ivan Marquez (left) walking next to Jackson

"When I met with Mr. Santos (Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos) I thought he was full of goodwill. I think he really wants it solved, but he's trying to avoid a diversion. And I really think all of us are, so we need not point a finger at him. We want to relieve any unnecessary or unfounded fears he may have."